The MOSAIC Comment Window Is Half Gone

[Dan Johnson]

MOSAIC was a subject of intense conversations at EAA AirVenture 2023 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Surprising many of us, the FAA released the notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) for MOSAIC ahead of schedule. Lots of people who needed to study it were already en route to the EAA airshow for a week, 10 days, or longer.

If you haven’t been paying attention, MOSAIC is an acronym for a regulation that affects all aircraft with special airworthiness certificates. Aircraft built by Cessna, Piper, Cirrus, Diamond, and others instead have standard certificates and are not touched by this MOSAIC regulation. In contrast, all LSA, experimental amateur built airplanes, and warbirds have special certificates.

If you already know enough, here are some helpful links:

Download USUA/LAMA MOSAIC NPRM study guide version 1.0, a PDF document with bookmarks and helpful organization
Article on using the study guide
Make a comment on the FAA’s comment page
Read what other commenters have said on the FAA comment page

The Clock Is Ticking

The FAA offered 90 days to comment on their proposal, which started out as 318 pages of text that no one would call fun reading. For a couple of weeks, most people in the industry hardly had time to look at it. Now time is starting to grow short.

It is possible to request an extension, but of course, that will simply add time to the end, delaying the new rule’s release. Pilots would have to wait longer for its benefits.

READ MORE: Your MOSAIC Study Guide

On the other hand, while portions of MOSAIC are like Christmas in July, other sections stimulate questions, big and small. The document is only a proposal. It will change. Your comments could help move it in a direction you wish, but you have to comment to hope for an improvement.

The rule can be divided into two main parts: airplanes and pilot certificates, plus operating limitations—including maintenance. The former is like “Christmas in July” with many capabilities that industry and pilot member organizations have sought. The latter describes who gets to fly and maintain these MOSAIC LSA and under what rules. This section inspires more concern; some of this you can pick up from the nearby charts but learning more will take additional study and some discussion.

I have sought opinions and help digesting MOSAIC. LAMA’s board of directors has been reviewing the proposal and board member Phil Solomon invested time in his area of focus. Thanks to Phil for info leading to these charts. [Dan Johnson]

Please Attend if Possible

I will be presenting two talks on MOSAIC at the Midwest LSA Expo 2023, one on Friday September 8 at 11 a.m. and one at Saturday September 9 at 11 a.m.. Different people attend on different days, said airport manager Chris Collins, so he requested the presentation twice. I’m happy to do so as I am keen to hear what pilots think of MOSAIC.

In this article are included the most informative slides in that presentation. These represent the essence of what many pilots are seeking. I hope they will help your understanding.

To gain extra knowledge by hearing more detail, I encourage you to either come to the presentation or view the video on my YouTube channel; I will get it ready as quickly as possible. It should only take a few days — we don’t have many left.

The charts were made to be shown large. If they look too small to read, enlarge using your computer or device methods; they should read well. [Dan Johnson]

At my talks, me giving you my views of what’s contained in MOSAIC has value, I trust, but the more important thing that should draw you to the show in person is to ask your own questions and hear those other people ask. Honestly, your opinion is what matters most.

The document is large and not particularly enjoyable reading. Nonetheless, we have tried to make it somewhat easier digest with the USUA/LAMA study guide. I recommend you find elements of it that are meaningful to your enjoyment of flying and comment on them. Don’t try to assess the whole thing.

Continuation of the previous slide [Dan Johnson]

Or, at least express yourself if you are dissatisfied with the product the FAA offers. While I urge you not to rant, you can most certainly offer constructive criticism, but that will be most effective if you include a possible solution. That will not be possible for everybody, but some of you will be inspired in various ways, and I hope you’ll all give it a shot.

Now that I’ve given you some fascinating thoughts for the weekend I hope you’ll spend a little time because, folks, we’ve only got 50-some days left before the FAA goes back into their huddle to assess the comments and make changes. …tick, tock!